Links and Books by Jo Michaels

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Book Review - Dark Bishop

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm gonna regale you all with another book review today! I know how freaking excited you must be. You guys. This book! Okay, I'm not gonna ramble today. Let's just get on with it, shall we?

Sydney. Her skin felt as soft as it looked. I shouldn’t have touched
her, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been to New Orleans dozens upon
dozens of times. It’s a unique city, filled with tourists and
superstition. And until tonight, I’d never been superstitious.

An old fortuneteller freak stopped me on the way to the diner and
said I would make a decision that would change my path. She didn’t know
that I’d walked the path to this very restaurant before. It had been a
few years.

Who knew that the decision to return would be blessed with a
beauty—five foot six with curves in all the right mouth-watering places.
Clothed in cheap polyester, stained with God only knew what, Sydney was
a vision. Blonde hair to her waist. Big brown doe eyes. I could almost
taste her.

In his game, everyone’s a pawn…

I didn’t miss the rumble of her stomach when I asked her to dine
with us. She was hungry. Something that flashed in those eyes told me it
wasn’t because she just skipped lunch today. Maybe I could meet some of
her needs. Forget that. I could definitely meet her needs, but it was
up to her to let me. So, I left her my business card, my number.

Girls like Sydney, they’re afraid. They never make the first move.
Most never even make the second. I doubt she’d call. I’d tipped her
well, not because she was the best waitress I’d ever had, not even
because she was within my sites. I tipped her so that when I came back
to the diner, she would remember me. She would want to serve me.

And, oh, would she ever serve me. I just have to play my cards right.

…and he’s never lost a game.

Dark Bishop is unsuitable for those under the age of eighteen due to adult language and situations.

****

I picked up this book because I heard it was a dark thriller, and I was in the mood for a dark thriller. Never did I expect what I found on the pages. I've read Casey L. Bond's work several times, but this was my first foray into Rachael Brownell. I wasn't disappointed. Far from it. But I bet you want to know why, huh? Okay, let's talk about why I loved Dark Bishop.

From a Reader's Perspective:
I knew what to expect from this book: dark, twisted, and a total player in the MC. What took me by surprise was the colorful, yet fast paced, writing. You could clearly see the peeling linoleum in Syd's apartment, feel the superiority in Jake's mind, and smell the scents described on the page. But those things were just the perks in a delightfully diabolical scheme being played out by dear Jake Bishop.

Ladies, this isn't the bad boy you love to hate. Oh, no. He's the one you run from, the one that turns your fantasies into living nightmares. Truly cringe-worthy, I give Jake Bishop the highest evil ranking you can conceive.

Then, there's Sydney. Oh, how many times I wanted to smack that girl! But she got played by a master of the game. I could sympathize with her easily, and wanted more of what she was thinking and feeling in that last chapter.

There was no other way this book could've ended. It was a stunning collision of perfect meets chaos. This is a wild ride you won't soon forget.

From an Editor's Perspective:
Very well done. I didn't find but one or two comma errors in the whole thing. Kudos must be given!

Rating:
1 Star for making me cringe often
1 Star for descriptions that brought the story alive
1 Star for giving me an awesome bad guy I could actually hate
1 Star for making Syd's actions and persona believable and making me care about her
1 Star for editing

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended if you love dark thrillers.